Development and Applications of biomedical probe microscopes

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We produced probe microscopes for use for biomedical specimens and studied their applications. We produced the following 4 kinds of probe microscopes and decided many measuring conditions ; 1) conventional probe microscope to measure atomic force between the tip of the probe and the surface of the specimens, elasticity and viscosity of the specimens, friction force of the specimens and so on by contact, noncontact, and cyclic contact modes. 2) probe microscope to measure the specimens in liquid condition such as cultured cells in the cultured medium, 3) vacuum probe microscope to improve resolution power by decreasing a resistance due to air when measuring by the cyclic contact mode, and 4) scanning nearfied optimal atomic force microscope to measure optimal information of the specimens by laser transmission and fluorescence due to laser. Using these probe microscopes, we measured the topography of the surfaces of the tectorial membrane in the inner ear, cultured nerve cells, cultured glial cells, cultured fibroblasts, and spermatozoa and obtained fine topographical information of the specimens, cell membrane, and substance on the cell membrane, and information of cytoplasmic filaments just under the cell membrane, information of visco-elasticity of the cell surface, and micro-movements of cell membrance of the living cells. It is important for probe-microscopy tightly to fix the specimens on the surface of the specimen stage to prevent passive movement during the scanning of the probe.